07-R403
2007 -- H 6567
Enacted 07/07/07
J O I N T
R E S O L U T I O N
PROCLAIMING SEPTEMBER
23RD TO BE "LITTLE ROCK NINE DAY" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND TO
CCOMMEMORATE THE HISTORIC EVENTS OF SEPTEMBER 23RD, 1957 AT LITTLE ROCK
ARKANSAS
Introduced By:
Representatives Almeida, Fox, Williams, Watson, and Diaz
Date Introduced: June 21,
2007
WHEREAS,
On the morning of September 23, 1957, at Little Rock Central High School
in
Little Rock, Arkansas, history was forever altered when nine young people
courageously made
their
way through an angry crowd of more than 1, 000 protesters; and
WHEREAS,
The students, known as the Little Rock Nine, were African Americans, the
protesters
were white, and the confrontation at hand was the first real test of the U.S.
Supreme
Court's
historic Brown v. Board of Education decision; and
WHEREAS,
In 1954, many of America's schools, particularly in the South, were
segregated,
with black students attending one school and white students attending another.
The
Supreme
Court's decision in Brown emphatically recognized the civil rights of
African
Americans,
and established the validity and justice of desegregation in America's public
schools.
Many
of the southern states decried the decision, maintaining their autonomy and
challenging the
federal
government's authority; and
WHEREAS,
With the nation and world looking on, Arkansas' Governor Orval Faubus
and
President Dwight D. Eisenhower locked horns in a showdown. After escalating
violence
caused
the withdrawal of the students on May 23rd, the President sent 1,200 troops
into Little
Rock
to form an escort for the nine students to enter school in the following days;
and
WHEREAS,
In August of 1958, the Little Rock School Board, with the support of
Governor
Faubus and the state legislature, closed the city's three high schools for an
entire school
year,
rather than integrate them; and
WHEREAS,
One year later, under mounting pressure from additional federal court
rulings
and the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, the schools were reopened, and by the
fall of
1959,
Little Rock public schools were integrated; and
WHEREAS,
The Little Rock nine were civil rights pioneers who demonstrated
unparalleled
courage in the face of bigotry and injustice. When interviewed many years
later, the
nine
collectively asserted that the true heroes were their parents, who had
supported and sustained
them.
They whole heartedly believed that the process was right, and that what these
children were
forced
to endure would eventually give them, and generations of young people to
follow, the
future
opportunities they so deeply deserved, now, therefore be it
RESOLVED,
That this General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island and Providence
Plantations
hereby proclaims September 23rd to be "Little Rock Nine Day" in the
State of Rhode
Island.
We honor the nine young men and women whose brave actions changed the course of
history,
and commemorate the wisdom and justice of the United States Supreme Court's Brown
v.
Board
of Education historic decision. We
furthermore urge all the citizens of Rhode Island to join
us
in reaffirming our pledge to work to eradicate prejudice and injustice.
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